


There Was Always Tomorrow

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Mpreg, an old fic, i wrote this when i was like 10 im so sorry, pregnant!Merlin, this is so bad, with Morgana
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 12:57:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5744680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin just couldn't believe it, what Gaius had diagnosed. It was impossible... right? Unless... Morgana had cast a spell on him when she captured him a few weeks ago... forcing him to be pregnant without his consent. WARNING: MPREG [little slash mpreg!Merlin non-beta'd]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Poor Unfortunate Bucket

He had his fingers running through his hair, elbows on his knees. He looked down at the ground of his bedroom, still in shock of what Gaius had just diagnosed him with. How could this be happening? What was Merlin going to do?  
/  
Ever since his last encounter with Morgana, the incident of the Fomorroh, Merlin hadn’t been feeling quite himself. First, he was just tired and not as enthusiastic as he used to be. Then, he began to lose his appetite and started to get headaches. Gaius, the father-figure in his life, definitely noticed all the changes.  
By then, Gaius, and even Arthur a bit, was already getting quite concerned. That was before Merlin started vomiting. He also started feeling that something was deeply wrong with him. It felt like the throwing up was progressively getting worse. Of course, Gaius was worried and gave him some medicine to calm his stomach.  
Unfortunately, the medication hadn’t been very much help. Arthur was wondering why his usually bright servant was becoming less and less healthy and friendly as he used to be. Merlin couldn’t help but make a few hilarious snide remarks, but Arthur thought they felt forced. He wasn’t stupid. Merlin knew he was sick, but wouldn’t acknowledge it, at least to Arthur.   
After the charade went on for around a month, Gaius had had enough. Merlin was lying in his room, reading his spellbook. Gaius opened the door, walking to stand right where Merlin was. Merlin looked up from the book and said, “What?”  
Gaius cleared his throat, a bit nervous to be the first to point out Merlin’s changes.  
“You’ve been sick for a few weeks now. Don’t you think I should check on you?”  
Merlin’s eyes veered to the side, mouth open. “I guess.”  
Merlin sat up and took his shirt off, as Gaius had told just him to do.   
“Does your stomach hurt other than throwing up?”  
Merlin shook his head slowly. “Nothing except cramps every now and then and I feel pretty nauseous lately.”  
“Hmmm,” Gaius said while nodding. “Lay down on your back. I need to see if it could be a cancerous tumor.”  
Merlin’s eyes widened, but he did as told. “What are chances that it’s cancer?”  
Gaius inhaled sharply while pursing his lips and rocked backward a small bit. “It’s the only possibility I can think of. Have you been feeling sad or numb from emotion lately?”  
Merlin shook his head ‘no’.  
“Then it can’t be depression. I’d say the chance of cancer is about 90%.”  
Gaius placed both of his hands on Merlin’s stomach, feeling for a tumor. Merlin would find the situation awkward if he wasn’t so frightened, and he was well aware that Gaius was an experienced physician.   
“There isn’t a tumor but-” Gaius frowned, which ended the small feeling of relief that flowed over Merlin.  
“What is it, Gaius?”  
Gaius pressed a hand harder into Merlin’s stomach, causing him to scrunch up his nose for a moment.  
“There’s something there,” he answered, still frowning. Suddenly, Gaius pulled back, a look of surprise pasted on his face.  
“What? Gaius, what’s wrong?” He was terrified of Gaius’s next words.  
“Merlin, you’re pregnant.”  
/  
Merlin looked down at his stomach, where a small bump was present. Because of how slender he was, it wouldn’t have been noticeable to anyone, including Gaius. Merlin, however, knew his shape at normal, and this wasn’t it. He, and probably Gaius as well, knew this was most likely the work of Morgana.   
‘Man, Arthur is going to laugh in hysterics when he found out.’ Merlin smiled at the thought.  
Arthur  
How was he supposed to tell the king, his best friend, that he was with child? Maybe… Maybe he shouldn’t. Merlin knew Arthur cared about him, even if he was only a servant. If Arthur found out, he would release Merlin from his job immediately, and he’d be unemployed. Merlin made his decision.  
When it was almost noticeable, Merlin would tell Arthur the truth, but he’d say he had only just found out. He wanted to keep his job for as long as he could. To Merlin, his job was an escape. It had nothing to do with pride of being the king’s servant. Arthur was his only true friend, aside from Gaius and Gwen. Merlin put his shirt back on.  
According to the old physician, he was only about a month and a half along. 7 ½ months of hell were ahead.  
“Gaius?” Merlin shouted.  
“Yes, Merlin? Is there something you need?”  
Merlin frowned at the phrase. It was foreign to him, a servant. “Can we keep this between just us, for now?”  
“Of course.” Gaius began to leave the room. He stopped at the doorway. “You know, you ought to tell Arthur. He’ll find out eventually.” Gaius walked the rest of the way out of the room.  
‘Not yet…’ Merling thought.  
/  
Arthur lay in his bed, thinking about important things, among unimportant things. There was one object that most would consider on the left side, but was much more meaningful to the king. Merlin.  
Merlin had been loyal to him since they met. Arthur loved him, not romantically, but they were bonded. If they had been in the same status, he was sure they would be the best of friends. He normally wouldn’t think about Merlin very much, only when he was being the person that astonished him. He had come to notice, though, that Merlin had been acting different. Arthur’s only hope was that there was nothing horribly wrong.  
The only reason he hadn’t said anything was because Merlin had never been very open about his feelings. He decided it had been long enough. Arthur decided it was time to ask. ‘Tomorrow’ he thought as he drifted to sleep.  
/  
Merlin woke to the extreme need to vomit. He ran to a bucket in the main room. Merlin emptied the contents of his stomach into that unfortunate bucket. For the first time since Merlin began to feel ill, Gaius was at his side. It was early in the morning, but Merlin was aware he had to wake Arthur in a matter of minutes.   
“Damn,” he said in between throwing up. Merlin tried to swallow down the bile and stand up, already making his way to the door.  
“Merlin, wait. You can’t just go walking around!” Gaius objected. Merlin ignored.   
Still struggling to avoid throwing up, Merlin ran down the corridor and into Arthur’s room. He pulled back the curtains, unable to say anything cheerful to get Arthur to wake, but alas, he woke anyway. “Merlin?” He thought about what he was thinking about as he fell asleep. “No ‘Rise and shine.’?”  
Merlin normally would’ve smiled, but instead, he just looked to the ground and shook his head. He was trying to temporarily suppress the morning sickness until he was able to speak and excuse himself.   
Arthur stopped moving and trying to get out of bed. “Merlin? Anything wrong?”  
Merlin made a face and cleared his throat. “May I be excused for a moment, sire?” he politely asked before promptly running out.  
“Merlin?” Arthur called after, jumping out of bed after him. He found Merlin puking into an old bucket in the armory. “Merlin?” he said again. Merlin turned his head toward Arthur for a moment before having to puke again. Arthur wasn’t sure exactly what to do. He figure Gaius would be a good resource, so he was off to Gaius’s chambers.   
In a matter of minutes, Gaius was once again by Merlin’s side. He leaned to Merlin’s ear, ignoring the smell. “Stupid boy. You shouldn’t even be working.”   
Arthur dressed himself that day. He never did get a chance to ask Merlin what exactly was wrong. ‘There was always tomorrow,’ he thought.   
/  
“Tomorrow” never happened. There was always an excuse as to why the two couldn’t talk, he realized. No wonder they didn’t get along as well as they could.   
Today, however, the morning sickness came later than it should’ve once again. Merlin awoke even before it started, Gaius already sitting at the table. They smiled at eachother, Merlin’s brighter. “I think it might be over,” Merlin beamed.   
Gaius frowned. “That can’t be. If that’s true, this might be an accelerated pregnancy.”  
“Come on, Gaius. Can’t I just be happy for the moment?”  
Gaius sighed. “Merlin, it’s about time you tell Arthur. You’re 3 ½ months pregnant now. Do you really want him to find out from someone else?”   
Merlin’s smile faded. “Do I really have to? Would Arthur really want to find out his manservant is pregnant because of magic? He could fire me!”  
Gaius scoffed. “He’d never fire you! Even if he did, you shouldn’t even be working anyways.”   
Merlin threw his hands up in frustration, about to say something when, low and behold, he ran for the bucket once again. Man, that poor bucket.   
/  
Merlin had learned from his mistake. It would be better to be late for work than to throw up while around Arthur, whom he still didn’t plan to tell.   
“Rise and shine, clotpole,” Merlin said loud and proud as he opened the curtains.  
Arthur covered his eyes, but smiled. “Someone’s feeling cheerful.”  
Merlin returned the smile and shrugged.   
Arthur was glad Merlin was feeling back to normal. There was still something unoriginal, but this cheer was a start. Maybe there would never have to be a “tomorrow”.


	2. A Series of Unfortunate Events

Gaius was extremely skeptical of how Merlin was planning things. He still hadn’t told Arthur or any of his other friends about his pregnancy, and he was going to be noticeably showing within the next few days. At four months, the morning sickness was starting to waver, but Merlin’s personality was quickly changing again.  
Arthur sat at his table, writing on an “important” piece of parchment. Merlin stood off to the side, slouching a bit to hide his stomach. “Merlin, prepare my weapons. There’s a hunting trip today.” He nodded and was off to fetch the king’s crossbow and some lunch from the palace kitchen. Gaius had been right: he really should’ve told Arthur of his condition by now. He just needed to find the right way of doing so, without shattering their friendship.  
Merlin, Arthur, and a few guards were off, riding along on their horses. They walked along the forest, quite close to the Valley of the Fallen Kings, when they heard a loud roar, not too far away from their location. Arthur signalled for everyone to quiet themselves, but the creature came forth anyway.  
It was giant, taking the form of a giant snake with a lion’s head.  
“Get back, everybody get back!” Arthur shouted.  
The group turned around and ran as fast as they could without looking back. Merlin tripped over a root, but no one noticed because of all the trees and noise surrounding them. In normal circumstances, Merlin would’ve gotten himself up and to safety, but he landed on his front. A sharp pain ripped through his abdomen. “Argh!”  
Merlin could see the creature catching up, but, oddly, it stopped at him. It looked at him for a moment, observing him. It reached down and picked Merlin up with its mouth, whisking him away.  
Merlin didn’t exactly keep track of where he was, he was focusing on the pain on his stomach. Of course, the moment he got there, Merlin knew exactly where he was: Morgana’s cottage.  
“Arthur!” he yelled in one more attempt to get his friend to hear him. Merlin gave up and was dropped right in front of the door by the creature. Morgana opened the door and looked down at him, grinning wickedly. “Hello, Merlin.”  
/  
Arthur and his group of men stumbled away, and when they were sure they were safe, took a moment to rest. They were all panting, but also weren’t being chased by a giant snake-lion hybrid. Arthur turned to the nearest man, Percival, and asked, “Is anyone missing?”  
Percival’s eyes darted from side to side of the group before saying, “I think everyone’s accounted fo-,” and looked around one more time before stating, “Merlin’s missing.”  
Arthur’s eyes widened.  
/  
Merlin looked up at Morgana, not speaking a word as he was too weak from the pain to talk. “What? Cat’s got your tongue?”  
Merlin scrunched his face and rolled on to his back, clutching his stomach.  
Morgana was still smiling. “Let’s get you inside.” She carried Merlin to a chain on her ceiling, the one he was on last time, and hung him up by the arms.  
“How are you doing?” Merlin didn’t answer. “Oh, better fix that up for you.” Despite the friendliness of her choice of words, the way she said it was cold, brooding, and intimidating. She muttered a few words of the old language and her eyes flashed gold. Like a miracle, Merlin’s stomach was no longer in pain, earning a glare from Merlin.  
“Did you do this to me?” he said through his teeth,  
Morgana tipped her head to the ground for a moment before moving only her eyes to look into his. “Well, who else? You nearly miscarried there, Merlin.”  
For a moment, Merlin nearly didn’t speak. “Why are you doing this?”  
Morgana scoffed. “I’m using you, Arthur’s most trusted servant, to get to the king. Why else?”  
Merlin frowned, confused. “How with this thing affect the king of Camelot?”  
“Arthur, he cares about you too much. I could’ve gone after Gwen, but there would be no reason to believe this was the work of magic.”  
“Why do you want them to think magic is evil? You’ve just gave more proof against your case if you did that.”  
“You and Arthur are strangely loyal to each other. If he believes magic is working its way up to himself, he’ll be too paranoid to realize what’s really going on.”  
“So you got me pregnant, just for the sake of paranoia?”  
Morgana smiled evilly, walking up to Merlin and placing a hand on his stomach, causing him to frown and turn away in disgust.  
“No. I’m doing this because Arthur’s going to need a distraction from Gwen.”  
Merlin faced her once again frowning, but this time in surprise. “You want to kill Gwen?”  
Morgana pulled back. “Of course. She stole the kingdom, all that was meant to be mine.”  
Merlin was getting fumed, ready to bust some heads. “The kingdom isn’t yours, Morgana. It belongs to Arthur and his betrothed, and that just happened to be Gwen.”  
Morgana smiled once again, in a way Merlin almost didn’t understand for a moment. “How did Arthur react?”  
Merlin stared at her for a few moments, causing Morgana to laugh. “You still haven’t told him!”  
“I… I will,” he said while looking away once again.  
“Yes, yes you will.” She once again put her hand on Merlin’s stomach, but this time, her eyes glowed gold. Morgana gasped and stepped back, eyes jerking from side to side and downwards.  
“What? What is it?”  
“The child,” Merlin looked down at his stomach, “It’s mine.”  
/  
After a few days, Morgana felt it appropriate to set Merlin free, just enough to build up some fear in the castle. Merlin, raggedy and dirty, trudged through the forest in the direction of Camelot. Eventually, a patrol found him nearly two miles from the palace. The first thing they did was bring him to Gaius, just to be sure he was unharmed.  
When he arrived, Gaius was worried sick. “Where the hell have you been?”  
The guards helped the energy-drained servant to a cot in the corner of the room. He waited for them to leave before he spoke.  
“It was Morgana. She did this to me.”  
“You mean-”  
“Yeah, but that’s not all. It’s hers.”  
Gaius held an expression of surprise. “She didn’t know either? Did she do anything to it?”  
“Not that I’m-” Percival opened the door to the room. “Arthur requests your presence in his chambers immediately.”  
/  
Merlin had expected that much, with him having been missing for the past few days. Arthur was like a brother to him, even though he was the king. Merlin rushed down the hall, but he knew he had to be prepared with answers for Arthur’s questions. He also had to be truthful. Merlin opened the door to Arthur’s bedroom to see him sitting at his table, enjoying his lunch. He looked up and grinned at his servant, standing up to greet him.  
Arthur didn’t say anything, but enclosed Merlin in a tight hug. Merlin didn’t pull back. He felt a rush of something he hadn’t felt in a very long time. It took him a moment to place it. ‘Freya,’ he thought. Already in a state of shock, something quite illy timed happened, causing Arthur to pull back instead.  
It kicked.  
Arthur had both of his hands on Merlin’s shoulders, a mixture of surprise and confusion swirling in his expression. “What was that?”  
Merlin opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out for a moment. “I-I have to go,” Merlin said as he turned around to leave.  
He heard no more of anything Arthur would have to say. He still wasn’t ready to tell him, but the little pest had to do it for him, didn’t it? Merlin walked back to Gaius’s chambers. He was storming to his room when Gaius intervened, “Merlin, what’s wrong?”  
“Arthur hugged me, but this thing decides to kick me, and Arthur!”  
Gaius’s eyes widened. “He knows?”  
“I left as soon as it happened. I didn’t answer any questions.”  
“He’s going to want to know. You really need to tell him.”  
/  
Merlin went to his room after that, not coming out even to eat, despite how hungry he was. He couldn’t stop thinking about that feeling he got when he touched Arthur. Why was is so similar to when he was with Freya? Could it really be-  
Someone knocked at the door, interrupting Merlin’s thoughts. It was Arthur.  
“Merlin?”  
Merlin looked over to him. He was laying in his bed, so it was a bit hard to see him. “Yes, Arthur?”  
Arthur frowned, then stared at Merlin sternly. “What was that?”  
“What was what?” Merlin asked, still not wanting to discuss the subject.  
“You know,” Arthur moved closer and whispered, “that kick.”  
“Did Gaius let you in?”  
Arthur nodded. Merlin sighed to that and sat up.  
“He’s been wanting me to tell you for months. Morgana… When I went missing four months ago, Morgana captured me.”  
“She what? Why didn’t you tell me?”  
Merlin didn’t want to say that it was because she cast a spell on him that focused him on killing the king of Camelot. “Arthur,” he croaked, struggling to get the words out, “Morgana cast a spell on me. I’m-” he sighed, “pregnant with her child.”  
Arthur frowned. “That- That’s impossible. You’re a male.”  
It was absolutely stinging, what he was about to say. Merlin was on the verge of tears, voice on the edge of breaking. “It’s magic. Like you said, all magic is evil.”  
Arthur studied Merlin for a moment. “Don’t bother showing up for work tomorrow. I can’t have you working, not in your condition.” Arthur turned toward the door, but turned back to ask a question. “How long have you known?”  
Merlin looked down at the ground. “Three months.”  
Arthur scoffed. “Three months? How could you not have told me for three months?”  
He left the room, slamming the door behind him. Merlin heard some faint dialogue between the king and Gaius, but nothing more for the rest of the evening. He laid back in his bed. ‘I know what I must do. I need to get rid of the baby.’ He put his hand on his abdomen and fell asleep, that being the only thought on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Golly I've already got the next chapter up


	3. Unfortunately a Keeper

Merlin woke in nearly the same position that he had fallen asleep in. It took him a moment to remember last night. Arthur had finally found out. Sure, Arthur was his best friend, but he wasn’t always the most understanding. Gwen was such, but he imagined Arthur had told her, and it would just feel sort of awkward to speak to a girl about his predicament, strangely.   
He was a very stubborn kind of man. Merlin refused to accept that he had been fired, but was afraid of what Arthur would say to him if they ran into him. Merlin’s decision was to avoid Arthur for awhile.   
Merlin sat up, realizing the small extra time he had now that he hadn’t a job to go to. He picked up his spellbook and flipped through it was extremely lucky when he found a spell in his book that would hide any signs of his condition to anyone in the castle. He figured he’s want to hide it from any knights or anyone else in the court, or in other words, connected to Arthur. If more people knew, there’d be more stress on Arthur and himself, and his plans of avoiding him would be fraught with even the mention of his name.   
Merlin had other things to worry about as well. How would he get rid of it without attracting the likes of Morgana? To Merlin, the “thing” growing in his abdomen was nothing more than a parasite. If he wanted to get rid of it so bad, what exactly was the point of thinking of it anything else? Merlin’s mind was focused on very little other than this topic, as he felt completely useless to anyone that knew this secret.  
Gaius refused to give him work of any kind, and strictly laid down that he wasn’t to do anything other than what he had to. Merlin, of course, didn’t want to agree, but couldn’t object as it could be critical to his health. Ever since it had happened, Merlin’s magic hadn’t been as effective as it used to. The little he could do usually included reading his spellbook simply sitting out in the fields, where he could think without commotion.   
There was no on he could completely trust, no one he could share his thoughts with. Gaius was an old man who spoke mostly in medical terms, usually giving advice he didn’t agree with. Arthur was the person who he felt he could confide in, but Arthur had taken his pregnancy so sorely, Merlin couldn’t even gather the courage to be in the same room as the king. He had no clue who else knew of his condition, who else Arthur had told.   
Merlin had yet to explore the rush of emotion he’d suddenly been overcome with the moment Arthur had hugged him. It was similar to when Freya had been intimate with him, but Merlin was too terrified to admit it to himself. There was no way Merlin could be in love with the king. They were both males. The kingdom of Camelot was extremely religious, much like other kingdoms near by. That was one of the reasons sorcery was so foul in the minds of people. Along with the practice of witchcraft, feeling intimacy for someone of the same sex was an abomination. Besides, Arthur was happy and married. Merlin didn’t want to take that away from his best friend.   
Since there was no else to talk to, Merlin decided to speak to Kilgharrah.  
///  
Arthur laid awake in bed, the time far past midnight. Part of him wished that Gwen slept in his chambers, the rest content with the silence and privacy. It’d been a long while since he had any time to himself. After letting Merlin go, he slowly began to realize that his loyal servant was a source of joy, and an altogether stress-reliever. If another king such as Uther had been alive and had discovered Merlin’s predicament, he would have killed the child, or banned his trusted companion.  
Arthur would never admit it aloud, but he and many others knew the kingdom was not just built by Arthur, as the king wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for the faithful servant. Everyone knew it. Merlin wasn’t praised a hundredth of what he should be credited for. If it wasn’t for his social stature in the community, Merlin would be publicly labeled the bravest and most intelligent man Arthur had ever met. For him to go through something so uncomfortable and unmatched to his gender must be complete hell. Arthur wanted to whatever he could, but that wasn’t his place. Merlin had made his choice by not telling him for 4 months.   
Arthur’s mind slipped into questions, wondering how his friend would deal with the unfortunate outcome of Arthur letting him get captured… Arthur suddenly realized, if he had never left Merlin’s side, he wouldn’t have been so vulnerable to capture. Merlin never would be going through this if it wasn’t for his own stupid mistake. Arthur closed his eyes and exhaled at his mistake. He felt overwhelming guilt. Arthur felt he should be at Merlin’s side, not shooing him away for a spell cast that he couldn’t control.   
He wanted, no, needed to know what Merlin was planning. Was he going to get rid of the child? What he going to keep it for some god forsaken reason? Arthur didn’t know what he thought Merlin should do. In the eyes of the church, killing an unborn child was murder, but keeping the product of Morgana inside the kingdom was a huge risk, not to mention the undoubted fear radiating from Merlin’s mind 24/7. Arthur was now determined to get his friend back.  
///  
Merlin waited until Gaius was deep asleep before sneaking outside. Every step Merlin took after leaving his corridors seemed to leave him with a little more tension than before. Would Kilgharrah respond sympathetically, or would Merlin be shamed for getting into trouble of this sort? He couldn’t help but think about it constantly, up until the moment Kilgharrah touched his feet on the ground. All fear washed away and his emotions were wiped away as well. All he wanted was to get some answers.   
“Kilgharrah!” Merlin shouted.  
“What is it, young warlock,” Kilgharrah responded annoyedly. From what the great dragon had observed, the kingdom didn’t seem or feel to be in any mortal danger at the moment.  
“Morgana… She…” Merlin struggled to get the words out, trying to sound as casual as possible. “I’m with child,” Merlin admitted plainly. Kilgharrah raised the scaley skin above his eyes.   
“Impossible.”  
Merlin ignored the dragon’s disbelief. “Kilgharrah, I need your help getting rid of it. Morgana plans to use it as a distraction to Arthur so she can murder Gwen.”   
“How did this happen?”  
“Morgana cast a spell on me four and a half months ago. Since then, I wasn’t the same. Gaius confirmed it two months ago.”  
Kilgharrah was trying his hardest to act unfazed, although he truly was in a state of surprise. Merlin was biologically male, so it was a bit difficult to grasp, even for a dragon of his age who had seen almost everything. “Merlin, I am not sure if there is anything you can do. It’s too risky to remove it from you. I assume it’s the product of both you and Morgana, correct?”  
Merlin nodded, eyes glued to the dewey grass blades. It’d be dawn soon. People would begin to wake up, and a dragon on a visible plot of land could start a panic.  
“Then this child will be extremely powerful. If you killed it, there’s no telling if your body would fight back, as it is another being similar to yourself.”  
“Kilgharrah, how could I be able to get it out?” Merlin asked sheepishly. It was a question he’d been asking himself for months, but never bothered to ask Gaius, as there was a very small chance he would know for sure.  
“I’m not sure. I’ve never encountered something like this before. I imagine it will have to be cut out of you when the time is right.”  
“When the time is right?”  
“Believe me, you’ll know.” The dragon gave Merlin one more glance in the eyes before turning and taking off in the opposite direction. Merlin gave himself one last moment to absorb the fact that he couldn’t avoid the child’s existence. He headed back to Gaius’s chambers and laid down solemnly on his bed.   
‘I guess I’m really going to have to do this, then.”  
///  
When Arthur woke, he was met, as usual, by his seemingly emotionless manservant, Ronald. Ron usually opened the curtain, informed Arthur on the schedule for the day, served breakfast, and did not much of anything else. Today, however, Arthur decided to speak with Merlin. Ronald tried to object to Arthur simply jumping out of bed, into his clothes, and out of the room. However, Arthur didn’t seem to hear a word of it.   
For some reason, none of the castle’s staff questioned the king ignoring his plans, going to see Merlin instead. It was well-known that something had happened between the two, starting the moment Merlin was fired. Ever since then, most people just wanted them to make up, knowing that Merlin was an asset to Arthur’s success.   
Five minutes or so after leaving his suite, Arthur finally knocked on the door to Gaius’s chambers, to which the door was answered by the physician himself. He let Arthur inside without even asking why. He knew.   
Merlin was awaken by the pounding on his door. Arthur exhaled a chuckle when he heard Merlin falling off his bed noisily to the sudden sound of the knocking. Arthur smiled, but he quickly cleared his throat and made his face more serious but he heard footsteps approaching.  
“May I come in?” he asked a little too politely as he made eye contact with his previous manservant. Merlin nodded and let Arthur come into his room, Arthur closing the door as he entered. He observed Merlin for a moment, first observation being his completely flat stomach.   
“I thought you would be… um,” he cleared his throat. “... Bigger by now.”  
Merlin slightly opened his jacket and looked down at his abdomen, slim as ever, for just a moment. “I… um… I guess some people you can tell more than others,” Merlin replied.  
“I came to see you, to check up on you, I guess.” Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, still in a state of disbelief that his best friend was actually growing a child inside of him. Merlin nodded.   
“Thanks… Arthur,” He finally said after a long silence.   
“Will you be coming back to work after it’s over?” Arthur asked hopefully.  
Merlin noticed that this considerate behavior had been outside of his personality, which instantly lead him to wonder if maybe Arthur felt the same feeling he had gotten last time they had hugged. Merlin quickly dismissed the thought. He looked to the side. “I imagine so.”  
Arthur smiled. “That’s good.” his smile turned serious again very fast. “Just… If you need anything, come to me. I also want you to know that I haven’t told anyone. Wouldn’t want to go and tell everyone that my manservant is pregnant, now would I?” He chuckled, which gained a tiny smile out of the side of Merlin’s mouth.  
After that, Arthur went back to his chambers to attend to any duties he had missed by leaving. Throughout the rest of the day, all he could think was, ‘Today was tomorrow.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, these chapters were already finished because they had already been posted on fanfiction.net, so it may take a bit longer for chapter 4.

**Author's Note:**

> There was a sentence about how Arthur loved Merlin but not romantically, but don’t let that fool you!. Please leave some (constructive) criticism here! There be some Morgana in the future (I hope). I personally would rather just focus on Merlin’s pregnancy, but I figure some sort of plot makes more sense? I don’t know, but some reader’s opinions would be nice!


End file.
